commercial vs residential?

[Ashlynne Kimono]

i am going to be purchasing my first land over the weekend (probably) and i don't want a linden home, because i'd like to have the option to open up a business..

 

but i've looked through a lot of ads for land sales (in the forums) as well as read through the knowledge base and there's still something i'm unsure of..

 

i've seen land advertised as commercial and residential...  so, if i buy land that someone has advertised as residential, can i not build a business there?  or vice versa, if i buy land advertised as commercial, can i not have a skybox/home set up there as well as the business building too?

thanks for any info <3

[Knowl Paine]

In general there are 2 types of Land in Second Life, the first type is called Mainland and the second type is Private or Estate Land.

Mainland's are regions established and Managed by Linden Labs (makers of SL). All regions are governed according to their maturity rating. This is for general conduct and behavior, dress code, pg, mature or adult ratings.

A Covenant found in a Land's About Land Page explains whether or not commerce is allowed or strictly residential. Covenants explain what is allowed or not allowed and they are a sort of Contract.

Estate or Private Land is owned by Residents. As Region owners they can write their own Covenants to include or restrict almost anything under the sun. These regions are privately owned and managed (often better than mainland).

The current Mainland's can be viewed using the Map link near the top of this page, or Inworld but that map can be cumbersome. If you zoom out on the Map you will see several large Continents, those are Mainland areas. (some Estates are very large 50 regions but private)

 

On the Mainland you will own the land and pay a Tier to LL depending on how much land you hold. Use of 512 meters is included in Premium membership.

On Estate Land you pay a very small fee to secure the land and your Rent is all you pay. The Region owner is a Land owner also and they pay Tier to LL. A bonus with Renting is you will still have your credit towards Use of 512 meters (usually 16m x 32m, 48f' x 96f' plot size)

 

I have always been a Mainlander, I like knowing that it is my land, yes Tier is like a tax, so, go myob cause I'm a taxpayer! :smileyvery-happy:

Private Estate's have delivered superior Customer Service and in some instances improved performance.

Look for what fits your budget. To really help you, recent changes in the Abandoned Land Policy have made available many plots open for purchase at 1L$ per meter. Look for some of those.

Good luck. 

 

 

[Peewee Musytari]

The best place to find Mainland for sale, is the inworld Land Search. This will vary depending on which viewer you are using.

V1 Viewers such as Phoenix - Very simple - Click Search, go to the Land tab & set the various filters, for maturity, mainland, plot size, then click search and click on the "price" heading to sort by price. Highlighting each one shows details in the panel on the right and you can TP to see each one.

V2  Viewers with New search - MUCH better than old V2 search- (see second picture below) - Open search, set for Land & Rentals, click Search, then set the filters as shown in the picture. You can open and close  the various listings to see info boxes.

[Lizard Howl]

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Ashlynne Kimono wrote:

...i've seen land advertised as commercial and residential...  so, if i buy land that someone has advertised as residential, can i not build a business there?  or vice versa, if i buy land advertised as commercial, can i not have a skybox/home set up there as well as the business building too?

thanks for any info <3

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Hi Ashlynne -

You are correct.  Typically if a land is advertised as "residential" or "commercial" they only allow a specific use for each land.

If you take a look on my website I have a wide variety of "No Covenant" lands for sale where you can do whatever you like.

Happy hunting!

Lizard Howl

Segarra Estates Owner

"We take care of our people."

 

[Chic Aeon]

Here it is simply 

 

If you buy mainland there is NO covenant and you can do whatever you want; commercial or residential. You can own up to a 512 parcel (117 prims) for free if you are a premium member. After that you pay land fees directly to Linden Labs. You must be a premium member to "own" mainland. You can also rent mainland from someone but you usually have very few land rights so this is most often not a great idea.

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The land you have seen advertised as "residential" or "commercial" is private land (estate owned). You can buy that land for as little as $1 but you are never the landowner. You are actually LEASING the land but you have land rights (these vary on the parcel and who is selling so be sure and check on that). Most times you have control over the land (setting music, terraforming etc.) Often you must leave the parcel in one piece and cannot subdivide or rent to others. ALL THIS INFO should be covered in the covenant You can see the covenant in the About Land tab in the viewer. You can often get a notecard copy of the covenant from a rental box placed on the land for sale.

If the land says RESIDENTIAL then you may not have a business on that land. If it says commercial you can often also live there or have a skybox (sometimes over 500 meters - again this should say in the covenant). It is VERY important to read any covenants before buying so that you know the rules and what you can and cannot do with the land. Most landowners will gladly answer you questions. Send a notecard.